1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to safety stops that prevent a child from inadvertently opening a sliding door or window sash. More particularly, the present invention relates to safety stops that attach to the glass of a window or door with suction.
2. Prior Art Description
Young children have mobile feet and clever hands. However, young children lack judgment and life experiences that teach them to avoid danger. To limit the exposure of danger to young children, children are often kept in rooms that have been made mostly child-proof by caring parents. In this manner, a parent can leave a child unattended for short periods of time, while a parent cooks, cleans and attends to many day-to-day chores.
Although a room of a home can be made child-proof by removing certain items and blocking electrical outlets, the structure of the room cannot be readily altered. Many homes have rooms with sliding glass doors. Most homes have windows with sashes that slide up and down. In order to prevent a toddler or other child from opening a sliding door or a sliding window sash, the door or window must be kept closed and locked. This prevents doors and windows from being partially opened for the purposes of ventilation or to better hear sounds from outside the room.
A need has therefore arisen for a device that can prevent a door or window from being opened by a child, even when that door or window is already partially open. In the prior art, many devices exist that attach to the glass of sliding doors and/or window sashes and lock them in a partially open position. However, many of these products can be compromised by being installed improperly or by being touched by a child attempting to open a door or window.
In the prior art, many devices have been designed that sound an alarm when a door or window is opened beyond a certain point. Such prior art devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,324 to James and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0009288 to Kersch. The problems associated with such prior art designs are twofold. First, the suction cups on the designs are exposed and come into direct contact with the door or window as the door or window is opened. Since the suction cups are directly contacted by the door or window, the suction cups are deformed by the contact. This often causes the suction cup to deform and break suction. Once the suction is broken, the device falls to the floor and becomes useless. Second, such prior art devices are designed as audible alarms. They produce sound only when the devices are contacted by a door or window being opened. If a child repeatedly moves a door back and forth, the device may only be contacted for a few seconds each time. The alarm produced may be so short in duration that it may go unnoticed in another room. Meanwhile, the repeated contact can easily cause the suction cups to dislodge, wherein the device becomes useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,768 to Mikiel discloses a prior art stop that attaches to a door wedge. The door wedge prevents the suction cup from being directly contacted. However, the suction cup elevates the wedge. As such, the device can only be used on doors and windows with large sliding gaps. Such door and windows are rare since homes tend to use highly energy efficient doors and windows that have very small sliding gaps. Furthermore, due to the shape of the wedge, if a door or window is engaged by the wedge, a large torque is applied to the suction cup. The torque can easily lift one edge of the suction cup and cause the suction cup to lose suction.
A need therefore exists for an improved safety product that enables a sliding door or window to be securely locked in a partially open position, wherein the safety lock is impervious to the incidental actions of a child and will not inadvertently open or fall away. This need is met by the present invention as described below.